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Tony Robbins' upcoming book dropped by publisher in wake of misconduct allegation

Simon & Schuster will no longer publish a book co-authored by Tony Robbins that was slated for release this July following allegations of sexual misconduct.
Image: Tony Robbins
Tony Robbins attends the Build Series to discuss "UNSHAKEABLE: Your Financial Freedom Playbook" at Build Studio on March 7, 2017 in New York City.Matthew Eisman / Getty Images file

Simon and Schuster will no longer publish a book co-authored by Tony Robbins that was to be released in July following reports of alleged misconduct and abuse by the self-help guru.

A spokesman at Simon and Schuster told NBC News on Thursday, “We are not proceeding with publication of 'The Path.'"

Robbins was listed as co-author of a forthcoming book, "The Path: Accelerating Your Journey to Financial Freedom," with Peter Mallouk, president of wealth management firm Creative Planning.

The decision by the publisher comes after Robbins was accused of making inappropriate sexual advances on fans and staff and berating abuse victims in an investigation published this month by BuzzFeed News.

BuzzFeed said its report stemmed from an investigation that was based on leaked recordings, internal documents related to Robbins’ work and a series of interviews with fans and insiders. The allegations include sexual misconduct or harassment that took place in the 1990s and early 2000s, before he married his second wife, as well as claims Robbins berated victims of rape or domestic abuse during his self-help sessions.

NBC News has not spoken to BuzzFeed’s unidentified sources. It was not clear how many women BuzzFeed spoke to for its report.

Robbins vehemently denied the claims in a response on the website Medium on May 17, saying in part that the news outlet was publishing an “inaccurate, agenda-driven version of the past, pierced with falsehoods.”

"Let me be clear, while my open-classroom therapeutic methods are not for everyone, and while I am on my best day still only an imperfect human being, I have never behaved in the reckless, irresponsible, or malicious manner intimated by false, unfounded, and incendiary allegations suggested by BuzzFeed story-tellers," Robbins wrote.

BuzzFeed has said its reporting was “based on records of Mr. Robbins berating victims of rape and domestic violence, and the testimony of former staffers and followers who accused him of inappropriate sexual advances.”

“It does not appear that Mr. Robbins read the story itself before he published his open letter, which contains a number of demonstrably false and defamatory claims about both our reporting and the resulting article,” BuzzFeed told NBC News in a May 17 statement.

In addition, BuzzFeed reported last week that Robbins was filmed repeatedly using racial slurs and saying he kissed a fan after she said his techniques did not work during a seminar in the 1980s.

A spokeswoman for Robbins said Friday in response to three BuzzFeed reports that he "has never behaved in the reckless and malicious manner suggested by the false and unfounded allegations published by BuzzFeed.”

Mallouk said in a statement this week that his firm and Robbins were “ending their professional business association.”

“After several months of negotiation, Tony Robbins has exited from his advisory role within Creative Planning as the Chief of Investor Psychology, a role he assumed in 2016,” the statement said. The parting “was a mutual decision and amicable."

The statement said the release of the upcoming book, which it said contained contributions from Robbins, has been postponed.

A spokeswoman for Robbins told NBC News on Thursday that his departure from Creative Planning "was amicable and predated any of the recent false reporting from BuzzFeed.”

"As Mr. Mallouk has publicly stated that while his book was in the works, contractual terms were never reached nor finalized with its planned publisher," Jennifer Connelly said. "It is a false and misleading characterization to state that this was a book authored by Mr. Robbins."